You might have heard about it somewhere on the ungraspable Interwebs, but after holding a copy of Dallas Clayton’s “An Awesome Book” in our furry hands, we immediately knew that we had to find out how it came about and what else this guy might be up to, given how, well, damn awesome it really is: Like all great-great kids books, it manages to blow young and old minds alike, simply because its über-positive message (“dream bigger”), amazing outrageousness (there are “rocked-powered unicorns”) and all-over vibe is just the thing this world could do with a whole lot more of. Honestly, we can’t wait for Dallas to finish more mind-boggling books like this one. Awesome job, Dallas!

Dude, first of all, what’s awesome these days?

So many things! My days are pretty awesome, lots of drawing, lots of writing, waking up to emails from strangers wanting to share their lives with me, hanging out with my son, being inspired by my friends, meeting new people and wandering into their lives and realising they have great stories, reading books to kids, sharing, giving... so many things are awesome these days.

Since the “Awesome Book” is all about dreaming big, what were your biggest dreams when you were a kid?

When I was a kid I’m pretty sure most of my dreams involved dinosaurs, and fantastic places – which is pretty much where I’m still coming from. I want to spend time with awesome creatures, and visit awesome places. At some point in the coming years I would like to build a full-size animatronic dinosaur that serves the same function as a slow-moving horse, one that I can ride around town. Maybe a triceratops. I think that would be really fun, I could paint it whatever colours I wanted, kids would love it, maybe add some speakers so it could play music – why hasn’t anyone done this yet?

Picking up on those fantastic places you were into: what were the most fantastic places you got to see during your recent “Awesome Book” travels? Do you have any amazing anecdotes from those trips?

Everywhere has been so great. It’s just awesome to see how moving 10 or 20 miles in one direction opens you up to a whole different set of people and experiences. As a whole, touring with a kid’s book is rad because in my world “touring” is something generally associated with skateboarding, or loud music: hordes of dirty guys crammed in a van coming to your town to break things and go nuts. With a kids book we might as well be coming to your town to hang out with your grandma, we read to kids and visit hospitals and give things away for free and play in the park. It’s still the same horde of dirty guys in the van, only with different intentions or at least a different way of presenting those intentions. It really changes everything.

When and how did you get into drawing and writing in the first place?

I started out writing zines when I was about 13, just writing them and selling them at shows and places – the way kids do. Then when I was 18 I moved to LA, and I realised there were enough people and events every night that I could make zines and sell them to people and not have to have a job. So I did. And after a while people started liking my writing and hiring me to write things for them. Fast forward a few years, after having a child I knew I wanted to write a book for him while he was still young enough to appreciate it so I decided to write a kids book a day; “An Awesome Book” was the first one that came out of my brain. I really liked it and I didn’t know anyone who could illustrate it, so I decided to take a stab at it. I’d never illustrated anything before. This was my first thing. This is crazy, because now I have just made up a whole new career for myself by accident.

Totally amazing to hear that all this happened by accident, in a way. Does “to write a kids book a day” mean you’ve also been working on lots of other ones?

Yes, I have. I just finished two books this year, one for kids that is a compliment to “An Awesome Book” and deals with the concept of being thankful, and another that is more “adult.” It is a compendium of poems and short stories from over the past years. I’m also working on an alphabet book called “A is for Awesome” that will be more for little-little kids (0-8). There are a few other top secret things in the queue as well. Honestly there’s so many projects right now I’m really lucky to be so busy. It’s the best.

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So, do you consider yourself a proper “kids book author and illustrator” by now? Or is it still just one of many things you’re interested in?

I do actually because it’s a really fun thing to say. Like if you are out somewhere at a show, or a club, or a party especially in LA so many people ask, “What do you do?” And it’s just a great reaction, like someone is waiting to judge you. Waiting for you to say you are in a band, or you are a DJ, or you are an actor or whatever but when you tell them you are a writer – well, most people think “screenwriter” so they make this face like “oh, I’m sorry to hear that, I hope you’ve written something I’ve heard of otherwise you don’t matter.” Then they qualify the question by asking, “What do you write,” and when you say, “kids books” it changes everything, their face, their attitude, they just light up. They are so confused and curious. It’s like you just told them you are a magician or you know where they can go to see a real live unicorn. I love it. So, yes, under profession I put: write kids books.

Tell me some more about those zines you made as a teenager. Was it just text-based stuff? What topics did you deal with at the time?

Oh man, zines. I could talk about zines forever. I’ve made so many terrible zines. Just imagine an unchecked visual/literary reference guide of everything you thought was important enough to write about between the ages of 18 and 25. Pretty awful stuff. Ha! It’s an arc that runs concurrent with the development that occurs in those ages. In the beginning lots of band stuff, cut-out pictures, stupid ideas about politics and the police, lots of group efforts and talking with other artists in other towns and states. This evolved into seeing what other people who weren’t so angry were doing and reading more books and learning to write, and using sensible (readable) design and eventually into more diary style journals. Eventually this all bled into poetry. Funny thing about writing is, the longer I’ve done it, the fewer words I’ve needed to communicate my ideas. That’s why I like kids’ books. Big concepts, relatively few adjectives.

I really like that: “big concepts, relatively few adjectives”… yet, apart from “big” and “awesome,” which adjectives would you like to hear more often in peoples’ vocabulary? And why?

That’s a great question. I think most people would answer that with a list of words they definitely wouldn’t want to hear more of. I’m sure I use a lot of words on that “don’t” list quite often. Ever since moving to California I think I’ve really made the most of adopting the classic surf/bro/cali/laid-back-chiller vocab set out by every stereotypical depiction of 20-something “dudes” living here in the 80s and 90s. You know, calling everyone “dude.” Everything is “chill,” “mellow,” “rad,” “stoked.” Days upon days of stress-free living. There’s something to be said for the actualisation that can occur when you adopt the vernacular of the most quintessential worry free human ever. I think most people could benefit from that. A few more “positive vibes” in their day-to-day speech might mean a little less heart-attack risk in their later years. It’s a theory.

What is awesome about this world anyway? And what isn’t at all?

Heavy. I guess I’m answering for me here, and not in any definitive way, right? I’d say at current so many things are awesome. From the small and simple things like my son, his friends, the world I am trying to build for him, his learning to read, dance, and figure things out – to the larger things like everyone’s attempts at broadening their perspectives, the slow and steady progression society seems to be making toward a more open and honest place, the internet, riding bicycles at night, talking to girls, having fun with friends, the ocean, learning new things, magic tricks, the fact that people are still creating things every single day that are totally and completely unique and radical, all on their own, for no good reason but to try and make something. These to me are just a few examples of what’s awesome. What isn’t awesome: well, this is a sliding scale but I would say anything in between genocide and parking meter enforcement people. Everything that is crappy between those points on the scale could be worked on or eliminated and I think we would be better off.
Since you already mentioned that “more adult” book with poems and short stories: have you ever thought about writing a novel at some point?
I’ve thought about it, but it seems like it would take a long time. I will probably do it when my body starts slowing down, 65-70. Maybe around then, you know, when I’ve got more hours to spend just sitting around thinking up characters.

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Your “Awesome Book” is available at places such as Family LA, but also at The Berrics; how exactly are you connected to those different groups of people?

Yes, those are both tight bros. Family for certain are great-great people. I had my book release there, which I guess was the first indicator of good things to come as David Kramer, the owner, told me it was the largest book release they had had, second to Michel Gondry! Amazing! And The Berrics, well I’ve known Berra forever. He was one of the first dudes I really hung out with when I moved to LA, so yes, I know all those guys, Koston and the whole Berrics family. What great people, I couldn’t be prouder of what they are doing over there, totally changing the face of skateboarding. Pretty inspirational stuff.

Speaking of inspirational stuff: which book or kids’ book do you keep returning to, and why?

Well, there are the obvious ones, the heavy hitters: Seuss, Silverstein, and Sendak. Those guys are just beasts. It’s crazy that when I first put the book out, people compared me to those guys. Like “The Next Dr. Seuss.” That, to me is like, untouchable. His work is on another level. I also really like William Steig, and Roald Dahl, Richard Scarry and then heavier writers like John Steinbeck; he’s always been a real great read. I like David Berman; I like Richard Brautigan. There are so many, pretty much anyone who has ever written anything from start to finish and convinced someone else to read it, in my opinion, is amazing. That’s a lot harder to do than you would think.

What are your plans with the Awesome World Foundation?

Try to give away as many books as possible, visit as many places as possible, read to as many kids as possible. Hopefully do a few US tours in 2010, and then try to get over to Europe. I’d love for that to happen. If you live in Europe and have kids that need reading to, feel free to email me!

What else can you announce for the future?

More books. More magic. More languages. Just finished the Russian translation of “An Awesome Book,” that should be out soon. Hopefully Spain, China, and Brazil soon after. I’d love to translate it into German, I get a lot of requests for that; I’d love to work with a German publisher on that one... I don’t know, just trying to make as many good things as I can as often as I can. Just be awesome.

<sub>words: rnk/trifeca.org
www.veryawesomeworld.com


Top ten list of people I know and love that you should also know and love (and where to find them on the internet)

01. RJ SHAUGHNESSY (RAD PHOTOGRAPHS/LA) - rjshaughnessy.com
02. ASKA MATSUMIYA (RAD PIANIST) - myspace.com/moonrats
03. MOLLY YOUNG (RAD POET) - magicmolly.com
04. BROTHER READE (RAD RAP MUSIC) - brotherreade.com
05. GRAHAM KOLBEINS (RAD CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGIST) - futureshipwreck.com
06. JUSTIN HOLLAR (RAD PHOTOGRAPHS/NYC) - justinhollar.com
07. MATT RUBIN (RAD TASTEMAKER) - rubinrecommends.com
08.  NO AGE (RAD PUNK) - myspace.com/nonoage
09. LITTLE JOY (RAD DATE MUSIC) - myspace.com/littlejoy
10. THE COMPANY OF PEOPLE (RAD DESIGN FIRM) - thecompanyofpeople.com</sub>